Transport apparatus for piece goods

ABSTRACT

The present invention concerns a transport apparatus for piece goods having a collapsible outer frame or housing and receiving pockets which are suspended therein and which include substantially vertically and horizontally extending and interconnected webs of a flexible material. The pockets are suspended on an upper rectangular frame by way of loops or eyes which are connected to the upper portion of at least a part of the flexible webs or are formed by a portion of the webs themselves. The upper rectangular frame includes a front bar, a rear bar and two side struts. The upper frame is releasably coupled to the outer frame, such as by holders on the outer frame, and is releasable easily without using tools from its holders and can be laid down as a whole with the pockets on the bottom of the frame. The lower ends of at least a part of the webs may optionally be fixed to or directly over the bottom of the outer frame.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of Germany Application No. 20 2005 006 353.3, filed Apr. 20, 2005.

FIELD

The present invention concerns a transport apparatus for piece goods that has a collapsible outer frame or housing and receiving pockets which are suspended therein and which comprise substantially vertically and horizontally extending and interconnected webs of a flexible material.

BACKGROUND

An apparatus of that kind is known for example from German patent application No 198 26 429.

That apparatus has an outer frame or a housing in which vertically extending flexible webs are suspended on upper and lower bars, wherein webs extending horizontally therebetween connect respectively adjacent vertical webs and thereby form substantially U-shaped or rectangular pockets which are open towards the end. Shown therein is an embodiment in which the upper bars can be unhooked and laid down as a whole with the pockets in a bottom portion of the housing.

It has been found however that, when transporting apparatuses of that kind in the empty condition, that is to say when the upper bars are laid down in the bottom portion, those bars can move considerably and slip around, in particular under rough transport conditions, and in that case can damage the flexible web material of the pockets, with the front and rear ends of those bars.

In addition the operations involved in engaging and unhooking the bars in corresponding holders are relatively complicated and a user generally has to approach the apparatus from both sides or two users have to unhook the upper bars at the same time before they can be laid down in the bottom portion together with the pockets, and the side portions can be folded in.

Furthermore the pockets are suspended on the upper bars in such a way that possibly lower bars also have to be released in order to be able to disengage the upper bars from their holders. As a result after transport in their condition of being laid in the bottom pockets and bars often have to be disentangled before they can be suspended again in their loadable state.

In comparison with that state of the art the object of the present invention is to provide a transport apparatus having the features set forth in the opening part of this specification, which is simpler to handle and in which the pockets, even in the condition of being brought together and laid down on the bottom, remain in their original arrangement and can neither slip nor are subject to a risk of being damaged by the ends of the bars.

SUMMARY

A transport apparatus in accordance with an aspect of the invention has an outer frame in which pockets are disposed. The pockets are suspended on an upper rectangular frame by way of loops or eyes which are connected to an upper portion of at least a part of the flexible webs or are formed by a portion of the webs themselves. The upper rectangular frame includes a front bar, a rear bar and two side struts. The upper frame is releasably coupled to the outer frame, such as by holders on the outer frame. The upper frame is releasable easily without using tools from the holders on the outer frame and can be laid down as a whole with the pockets disposed on the bottom of the frame when the outer frame is laid down.

In an aspect, the lower ends of at least a part of the webs can optionally be fixed to, or are directly over the bottom of the outer frame.

In contrast to the known arrangement which only has front and rear bars in the upper region, which can be unhooked and laid down separately, in accordance with an aspect of the invention, the complete rectangular upper frame can be disengaged as a unit in a very simple fashion from its holders on the outer frame and can be laid down as a whole together with the pockets suspended thereon, on the bottom of the outer frame. In that case, in an aspect, the lower ends of at least a part of the webs can be fixed to or directly above the bottom of the outer frame and remain there. The upper frame also stabilises the walls of the outer frame, which is particularly advantageous in an embodiment where the outer frame does not have a front wall. By virtue of the upper frame which directly or indirectly more or less rigidly connects the walls of the outer frame together, the outer frame nonetheless remains stackable.

The vertically extending webs extend substantially parallel to a plane which is defined by a vertical and the side struts of the upper frame, that is to say vertically and from the front rearwardly (apart from possible deformations and displacements which are possible by virtue of the flexibility of the webs and the suspension thereof). The horizontal webs extend substantially parallel to the plane defined by the upper frame, possibly apart from vertical attachments for connection to the vertical webs. The plane perpendicular to the horizontal and vertical webs defines the plane of the end openings of the pockets, which coincides with the plane of the front and rear side. Considered as the front side or ‘front’ in relation to the apparatus is an open side of the apparatus, in front of which is standing a user who wishes to load or unload the pockets from the open end.

The term ‘frame’ in accordance with the present invention is used to denote not just a frame or support structure composed of bars, tubes or the like, but also a housing whose walls are each completely closed walls which do not just comprise individual elements in bar form. Hereinafter therefore instead of the term ‘outer frame’ and in order to make a better distinction from the upper frame on which the pockets are suspended, the term ‘housing’ is used for the outer frame. It will be appreciated however that this term ‘housing’ precisely includes not only housings with closed wall portions but also open support structures or frames which comprise elements which are more or less in the form of bars or tubes.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the housing has a bottom, a rear wall as well as a left and a right side wall. A front wall could additionally be included, as well as also an upper wall or cover, but for many situations of use it is preferable if at least the front wall is omitted, while it is also possible to dispense with an upper wall or cover. Optionally the top side and the front side can be covered by a further flexible web or by one, of a suitable size, of the flexible webs which otherwise constitute the pockets.

The terms ‘bar’ and ‘strut’ or ‘side strut’ moreover do not necessarily signify a different configuration in respect of the cross-section or shape of those elements. Different terms have been adopted here only for ease of description and identification of the parts in question.

Omitting the front and upper wall means that the pockets which are open towards the front side can be easily loaded and unloaded, in which respect the pockets, insofar as they are also open at the top, or at least an upper row of pockets, if a plurality of pockets are arranged in vertically mutually superposed relationship, can possibly also be loaded and unloaded from above.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention, a respective lower portion of the rear wall and the side walls is rigidly connected to the bottom, wherein adjoining said portion which is rigidly connected to the bottom there is provided a hinge which permits folding over of the upper portion of the rear wall and the side walls, said upper portion upwardly adjoining the hinge. Hereinafter the terms ‘rear wall’ and ‘side wall’ generally respectively refer only to that upper portion which can be folded over, unless that is expressly declared otherwise.

By virtue of the fact that lower portions of the rear wall and the side wall or beneath the rear walls and side walls remain, a corresponding spacing relative to the bottom also remains after the rear wall and the side wall are folded over, wherein the pockets in the condition of being folded together and the upper rectangular frame can be received in that remaining space when the upper frame has been disengaged and laid down on the bottom.

Desirably the hinges for the rear wall and the side walls are arranged at different heights, wherein the difference in height approximately corresponds to the thickness of the side walls or the rear wall. If the hinge axis extends centrally and the rear walls and the side walls are of equal thickness the difference in height should fairly precisely correspond to the wall thickness of the rear wall and the side wall respectively. The difference however can also be selected to be larger or smaller if the hinge axes extend eccentrically or if the wall thicknesses of the rear wall and the side wall are different.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the height of the rear wall corresponds at most to the depth of the housing and the height of the side walls is at most equal to the width of the housing, preferably at a maximum half the width of the housing, wherein those wall heights are respectively measured from the hinge axis to the upper edge of the respective walls. In this respect the terms ‘front’ and ‘rear’ relate to the position in use or when loading and unloading the apparatus which is generally loaded from the open front side towards which the open ends of the pockets which are U-shaped or rectangular in cross-section also face.

Desirably the hinge for the rear wall is a wall thickness lower than the hinges for the side walls so that, after the upper frame has been laid down on the bottom portion, firstly the rear wall is folded over and then the side walls are folded down and on to the outside, which is then upward, of the rear wall, and lie flat on the rear wall because of the selected difference in height in the hinges.

If the width of the apparatus is less than double the height of the side walls (measured from the hinge axis), the hinges of the side walls should also be arranged at a different height, in which case the difference in height should again correspond to a wall thickness so that a hinge of a side wall is higher by a wall thickness than the hinge of the rear wall and the other hinge is higher by two wall thicknesses than the hinge of the rear wall. The side walls can then be folded over in succession, in which case the first side wall comes to lie on the rear of the rear wall while the second side wall is folded down on to the rear of the first side wall and lies substantially flat thereon. It is assumed here moreover that the side walls and the rear wall are of the same wall thickness and that the hinge axes, with respect to the thickness of the walls, extend respectively centrally or in the same relative position.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention it is further provided that the upper frame is suspended at or in the proximity of the ends of the front bar on corresponding holders extending from the side walls and is received in the proximity of the rear ends of the struts in holders on the rear wall. In that way the rear walls and the side walls are indirectly connected together by way of the upper frame and stabilised, in which respect however the particular advantage of this arrangement is that the upper frame can be released by one person and only from the front side more easily than would be the case if suspension on the side walls were also provided in the rear region of the upper frame, that is to say at the ends of the rear bar or the rear end of the strut. The fact that suspension is implemented in the proximity of the rear ends of the struts on or in the rear wall means that for example the upper frame can be easily lifted and unhooked in the front region and can then be pulled substantially horizontally out of the rear suspension means in order then to be laid down on the bottom, with the pockets in a condition of hanging underneath and being folded together when they are laid down. In that case suitable receiving means for the suspension devices of the frame can also be provided in the lower region of the rear wall or selectively also in the hinge region.

For example in the preferred embodiment of the invention the struts are simply prolonged or are possibly also prolonged in a cranked form and the free ends of those struts are received in corresponding cavities or slots or bores in the rear wall. The same slots or bores can additionally also be arranged in the portion beneath the hinge of the rear wall or in the hinge region itself so that, even in the downwardly lowered condition, the corresponding cranked ends of the struts can be held in those receiving means or openings.

Desirably the holders on and for the upper frame, possibly also in matching relationship with the connection of the side walls and the rear wall together, are designed in such a way that they allow no or only a slight play for a relative movement of the upper edges of the walls. That arrangement provides that stackability of the apparatus is securely maintained even in the absence of a cover wall and the absence of a front side.

Furthermore the preferred embodiment of the invention provides that the vertical webs extend continuously from the upper frame to the bottom of the housing, wherein the lower end of those vertical webs or a prolongation of at least a part of that vertical web is or are secured to the bottom of the housing.

Desirably that fixing is to a rail arranged parallel to and in the proximity of the front edge of the bottom.

The front and rear bars of the upper frame are preferably in the form of round bars or tubes and in addition the pockets are preferably suspended exclusively at those front and rear bars, but not at the struts which extend from the front rearwardly.

The bars can in turn again be arranged through bores in the ends of the lateral struts extending from the front rearwardly and can be fixed in that position by cotter pins, screws or other securing means. The round bars or round tubes can then possibly be easily released from the lateral struts in order to pull on to the round bars the loops or eyes at which the pockets are suspended, in order then to connect the ends of the round bars to the longitudinal struts in order in that way to assemble the upper frame in the form of a unit which can be handled in one piece.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Further advantages, features and possible uses of the present invention will be clearly apparent from the description hereinafter of a preferred embodiment and the related Figures in which:

FIG. 1 shows a housing with an upper frame laid down on the bottom, and the pockets suspended from the upper frame,

FIG. 2 shows the housing in the collapsed condition,

FIG. 3 shows the housing with an upper frame which is released from the front suspensions at the side walls while the cranked ends of the struts are still arranged in the upper receiving means of the rear wall,

FIG. 4 shows a plan view from above on to the frame,

FIG. 5 shows a variant of the means for suspending the pockets on one of the bars,

FIG. 6 shows the housing in the erected condition with the upper frame held to the upper suspension means,

FIG. 7 shows the suspension of a strut of the upper frame on a side wall, and

FIG. 8 shows the suspension on a side wall in vertical section.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following description is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the present disclosure, application, or uses.

Referring to FIG. 1, shown therein is a housing 10 which comprises a bottom 1, a rear wall 2 and side walls 3, 4, wherein the rear wall and the side wall are pivotally connected by way of hinges to short vertical portions of the rear wall and the side walls, which are formed integrally with the bottom portion 1. The hinge of the rear wall is arranged lower approximately by the wall thickness of the rear wall, than the two hinges of the side walls. That makes it possible for the rear wall to be firstly folded over in the condition shown in FIG. 1, so that the rear wall comes to lie on or over the upper frame 5, and then for the two side walls 3, 4 to be folded in, so that they then come to rest on the rear side of the rear wall. The holders 11 in the side walls are resiliently accommodated in recesses in the side walls and in that situation are pressed into those recesses so that the rear wall is not damaged. It will be appreciated that the hinge of the rear wall could equally well be arranged higher than the hinges of the side walls if the sequence in which the walls are folded in is to be reversed. At their edges which are towards each other in the erected condition, the side walls are preferably in positively locking engagement with the rear wall, that engagement not allowing (further) outward folding movement of the rear wall and inward folding movement of the side wall in the normal condition of being folded out into the erect position.

It will be appreciated that all drawings only diagrammatically show the subject-matter of the invention and that for example the wall thicknesses of the rear and side walls are shown in greatly exaggerated form in relation to the other dimensions of the apparatus.

FIG. 2 shows the completely collapsed condition of the housing with the pockets 20 (not visible here) which are received on the bottom 1, including the upper frame 5.

The height of the apparatus and the dimensions of the bottom are so matched to each other that the rear wall can firstly be folded over and then both side walls can be folded over without touching or interfering with each other.

FIG. 3 shows the transport apparatus according to the invention in a condition in which the upper frame 5 has been removed from its front holder loops and lowered downwardly while the rear holding portions 17 are still received in corresponding receiving means 18, 19 of the rear wall. FIG. 4 is a diagrammatic plan view showing the basic shape of the upper frame 5. Arranged on the lateral struts in the front region in the proximity of the front bar 6 are two laterally projecting hook portions 16 which can be hung in the U-shaped holding loops 12 (see FIG. 7 and FIG. 8). The rear holding portions on the frame simply comprise rearwardly projecting, cranked ends 17 of the lateral struts 8, 9, which are held in corresponding receiving openings 18, 19.

While FIG. 3 simply illustrates, of the pockets 20, only the vertical webs 21 which in the proximity of their upper corners have eyes which are threaded on to the front and rear bars 6 and 7, FIG. 5 shows a preferred variant of the suspension means for the individual pockets, in which loops 25 are sewn to the upper corners of each two respective vertically extending adjacent webs 21 and those loops 25 are then threaded on to one of the bars 6, 7 which specifically comprises a tube.

It will be appreciated that basically there are very different options and variants in respect of a suitable suspension means for the vertically extending webs 21.

The horizontal webs 22 are bent upwardly in a U-shape at their lateral edges and the limbs of the U-shape which extend vertically and in parallel relationship with the webs 21 are sewn or glued to the vertical webs. If only the upper edges of those vertical limbs of the horizontal webs 22 are sewn to the vertical webs 21 along the seams 23, then the width of the opening or the spacing between the vertical webs can be correspondingly varied by correspondingly wide inserted articles, as is already known per se from above-described German patent application No 198 26 429.

FIG. 6 shows the transport apparatus in a loadable and unloadable condition in which the upper frame 5 is suspended from the corresponding holders 11, 18, 19. In that situation the vertical connecting webs which in cross-section extend substantially in a J-shape, wherein a respective end of the lower arc of the J-shape is sewn to the most closely adjacent vertical web, each have a respective prolongation 24 which is fixed to a lower rail 26, wherein the lower rail 26 is in turn secured to the bottom 1 of the housing 10.

FIGS. 7 and 8 show details of the front suspension of the upper frame. FIG. 7 shows a U-shaped loop 12, the limbs of which extend into openings in the side wall 14. Preferably, even if not shown in FIG. 7, provided also between the two circular openings which receive the limbs of the loop 12 is a groove-like recess which approximately corresponds to the diameter of the transversely extending limb of the U-shape of the loop 12.

A hook 16 is welded or otherwise fixed to the struts 8, 9 of the upper frame 5, the struts extending in the longitudinal direction, that is to say from the front rearwardly. The hook 16 is engaged into the loop 12 for suspending the upper frame and therewith the pockets 20. Preferably the hook 16 has only a slight play in the loop 12, which should generally also apply to alternative corresponding holding elements, so that the horizontal spacing of the upper front corners of the side walls 3, 4 is well fixed by the mutual engagement of the front holding elements.

As can be seen from the sectional view in FIG. 8 the loop 12 is also received displaceably in the side wall 4 and in that case is biased outwardly by a spring 11. This means that, in the case of a pressure which acts in the direction of the wall and which is exerted on the loop 12, the loop is pressed against the force of the spring 11 into the guide bores for the limbs of the U-shape of the loop 12 and if in addition the groove-like recess is provided between those bores for receiving the transversely extending limb of the U-shape, finally terminates flush with the inside surface of the wall 4. Without such a groove-like recess the loop only still projects from the wall by its diameter, which can be tolerated in most cases.

This feature provides that the apparatus can be collapsed without any problem into the condition shown in FIG. 2 without the side walls in the folded-in condition being held by the loops at a noticeable spacing from the rear wall and preferably also without the upwardly projecting loops 12 damaging the outside of the rear wall 2.

As already mentioned all the drawings are only of diagrammatic nature and do not necessarily reproduce the relative dimensions of the individual elements true to scale.

The terms ‘front’, ‘top’, ‘bottom’, ‘right’ and ‘left’ relate to the orientation of the transport apparatus as is shown in the Figures, wherein the open side is viewed as the front side and the other identifications are inevitably from the view of a person who is in front of that open front side and is facing towards the apparatus.

For the purposes of original disclosure it is pointed out that all features as are to be found in the present description, the drawings and the claims from the point of view of a man skilled in the art, even if they have been described in specific terms only in relation to given further features, can be combined both individually and also in any combinations with others of the features or groups of features disclosed here, unless that has been expressly excluded or technical factors make such combinations impossible or meaningless. It is only for the sake of brevity and readability of the description that the comprehensive and explicit representation of all conceivable combinations of features is not set forth here. 

1. A transport apparatus for piece goods, comprising: a collapsible outer frame in which receiving pockets are disposed; the receiving pockets including substantially vertically and horizontally extending and interconnected webs of a flexible material; and an upper rectangular frame on which the pockets are suspended, the upper rectangular frame including a front bar, a rear bar and two side struts, the upper frame releasably coupled to the outer frame wherein the upper frame is releasable from the outer frame without the use of tools and can be laid down as a whole to a bottom of the outer frame with the pockets disposed at the bottom of the outer frame when the upper frame is laid down.
 2. The transport apparatus according to claim 1 wherein lower ends of at least a part of the webs are fixed to the bottom of the outer frame.
 3. A transport apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the outer frame includes a rear wall, a left side wall and a right side wall.
 4. A transport apparatus according to claim 3 wherein the rear wall, left side wall and right side wall each include an upper portion, a lower portion, and a hinge coupling the upper portion to the lower portion, the lower portions of each of the rear wall, right side wall, and left side wall rigidly connected to the bottom of the outer frame.
 5. A transport apparatus according to claim 4 wherein the hinge for the rear wall is arranged at a different height from the hinges of the side walls and wherein a difference in a height of the hinge of the rear wall and a height of the hinges of the side walls approximately corresponds to one of a thickness of the rear wall or a thickness of the side walls.
 6. A transport apparatus according to claim 4 wherein a height of the rear wall is at most a depth of the outer frame a height of each of the side walls is at most a width of the outer frame.
 7. The transport apparatus according to claim 6 wherein a height of the upper portion of the rear wall is at most the depth of the outer frame and a height of the upper portion of each of the sidewalls is at most one-half the width of the outer frame.
 8. The transport apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the upper frame is releasably coupled to the outer frame by holders on the sidewalls and rear wall, wherein when the upper frame is coupled to the outer frame, the holders on the sidewalls are in proximity to ends of the front bar of the upper frame and the holders on the rear wall are in proximity to ends of the side struts.
 9. A transport apparatus according to claim 8 wherein the holders on the rear wall include recesses in which cranked prolongations of ends of the side struts are received.
 10. A transport apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the vertical webs extend continuously from the upper frame to the bottom of the outer frame and lower ends of at least a part of the vertical webs are secured to the bottom of the outer frame.
 11. The transport apparatus according to claim 10 wherein the lower ends of the vertical webs that are secured to the bottom of the outer frame include prolongations that are secured to the bottom of the outer frame.
 12. A transport apparatus according to claim 10 wherein the lower ends of the vertically extending webs that are secured to the bottom of the outer frame are fixed to a rail arranged parallel to and in the proximity of a front edge of the bottom of the outer frame.
 13. A transport apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the front bar and rear bar of the upper frame are round and the pockets are suspended only on the front and rear bars of the upper frame.
 14. A transport apparatus according to claim 8 wherein the holders on the sidewalls project from recesses in the side walls, each recess having a resilient bias disposed therein that urges the holder projecting from that recess outwardly. 